Trace-buckle



(No Model.)

J F. BARTLETT.

TBA-0E BUCKLE.

Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES FRANCIS BARTLETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRACE-BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,671, dated December18, 1888.

Application filed April 1'7, 1883 Serial No. 270,887. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES FRANCIS BART- LETT, of Chicago, Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Trace- Buckles, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trace-buckles, in which aneccentric-cam is employed to secure or aid in securing the buckle inplace on the trace; and it consists in the features and the combinationand arrangement thereof in the buckle hereinafter described, and pointedout in the claims.

Heretofore buckles have been made and provided with an eccentric-cam,both with p and without teeth, and arranged opposite to f a plate so asto compress the Web or strap di- 1 reetly upon the plate; but myimprovement, so far as it relates to the eccentric-cam, does not use aplate in connection therewith. The cam is placed opposite to an openingor slot between cross bridges or loops extended across the buckle-frame,the object being to deflect the strap at the opening between saidbridges by the action of the cam. The cam is de signed to fasten. thetrace in the buckle either alone or in connection with a tongue adaptedto pass through a hole in the trace and rest against one of the bridges.The cross bridges or loops of the buckle-frame are so placed relativelyto the cam as to assist in the accomplishment of both of these ends. Thefront portion of the buckle is on a curve in the opposite direction fromthe rear portion to which the bridges or cross-loops are attached, thedesign being to support the port-ion of the buckle-frame to which theloops or bridges are attached substantially in line with the front sideof the hame-tug.

Another object of the invention is to produce by such arrangement abuckle which can be unbuckled with greater facility than any heretoforemade.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a front side view of a portion of a trace passed through aplain buckle containing the invention. Fig. 2 is a back View of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 1 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is atransverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front perspectiveview of a modified form of the buckle, showing the tongue omitted andtwo side loops and an end loop for performing other connections besidesthat of the trace therewith.

The buckle-frame consists of the side bars, A, the cross-bar B at theforward end to which the hame-tug C is attached, and the cross-bar B atthe rear end. There is a curve in the side bars at a, whereby the mainor rear part of the frame is projected outward from the plane of theforward portion, so as to lie substantially in line with the front sideof the hame-tug when attached to the cross-bar 1%, and give the trace Ca substantially straight or even appearance on the front side when inthe buckle. At the rear end and extended obliquely from the frame,starting near the cross-bar l5,is a bridge or loop, a, and a littleforward of said cross-bar is another bridge or loop, (4 Theeccentric-cam D is hinged on said cross-bar and provided with a plate orlever, D. \Vhen the lever is turned away from the frame, the cam isthrown between the side bars thereof, and when in this position thedepth of the space between the interior of the side of the cam and thebridges or loops at a is just sufficient to allow the trace to be easilypassed in under the bridges or loops, and when in the turning of thefree end of the plate or lever back against the trace throws the camhard against it and causes it to be deflected between the bars of thebridges or loops a (L as shown in Fig. 3. The fastening of the buckle tothe trace made in this way is sufficient to hold it in without otherfastening; but it is preferable to provide the lever or plate D with apin or tongue, d, which is adapted to pass through a hole in the traceand come against the bridge or loop a The cam should form an obtuseangle with its plate or lever, so as to standinelined toward the bridgeor loop a when the inner surface of the lever is brought against thetrace, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to prevent accidental unbucklingwhen the trace is slackened.

The pull on the trace is in the direction of the arrow, and the buckleis prevented from slipping by the deflection at a coming against thebridge or loop a, and also by the tongue (Z, supported by the bridge6L2, when a tongue is used; otherwise by the deflection alone.

The buckle, having the bridges a 6L2 arranged, as shown, relatively tothe cam D and its plate or lever D, either with or without the tongue(Z, is capable of being loosened or unbuckled from the trace with thegreatest facility. This is done by taking hold of the hame-tug and tracetogether near the buckle and squeezing them within the hand, so that theone will not slip on the other; then with the other hand pressing on thebuckle against the loop a, so as to turn the buckle at the point of itsconnection with the hame-tug, the rear end of the buckle being swungaround tOWard the back side of the hame-tug. This causes the trace toslide forward in the buckle, an d such forward movement throws theeccentric-cam forward, thereby throwin the tongue out of the hole in thetrace and leaving the trace free to be drawn out of the buckle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination,with the trace-buckle frame, provided with the loop a at one end of theframe, of an eccentric-cam and its lever hinged to the end cross-bar ofthe frame adjacent to said loop and adapted to deflect the traceobliquely against said loop, substantially in the manner shown anddescribed.

2. The combination, with the trace'buckle frame, provided with a loop,a, at one end and a loop, a placed inward from said loop a, of aneccentric-cam and its lever hinged to a cross-bar of the frame, which isplaced on the frame at a point between said loops, said cam beingadapted to deflect the trace into the open space between said bridges,substantially in. the manner shown and described.

3. The combination, with the trace-buckle frame provided with a loop, a,at one end and a loop, (L2, placed inward from said loop a, of aneccentric-cam and its lever hinged to a cross-bar of the frame attachedbetween said loops, said lever being provided with a tongue, (Z, as andfor the purpose specified.

4. The buckle composed of the frame formed of side bars and end bars andhaving the loops (1' (1 said loop a being connected to the frame nearone of the end bars and extended obliquely from the frame, and

.said loop (t being attached to the same side of the frame and on theopposite side of the end bar from the loop Ct, in combination with aneccentric-cam, D, hinged to said cross-bar and provided with a lever orplate, D, the said cam beingopposite to the open space between the loo)s a" a substantiall as and for JAMEs R. DEAN, EDWARD R. LIEBLEIN.

